LONDON – Renee Forte paid no mind to fighting in hostile territory against a taller and more seasoned opponent as the card’s biggest underdog.

The Brazilian picked up the first win of his UFC career as he outstruck home favorite Terry Etim for a unanimous decision win. Forte picked up a pair of 29-28 scores and a 30-27.

The lightweight bout closed out the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 7 event at Wembley Arena in London. It streamed on Facebook ahead of a main card on FUEL TV.

Forte looked for a Superman punch early and came out aggressively, backing Etim up. Etim answered with right leg kicks, then threatened with a front kick to the head. Forte landed a good front kick of his own, though, and came behind it with a good combination. After catching an Etim kick, he landed a kick of his own and pushed Etim to the cage and looked for knees along the fence.

Etim kept Forte at bay on the fence, controlling his wrists as things came to a bit of a stalemate. They finally broke apart and stayed standing until a kick from Etim allowed Forte to take the fight to the ground. Etim was back up quickly, though, and they stalled out the last 20 seconds of the frame.

Forte looked to rush in early, but Etim avoided the takedown and the two jockeyed for position on the fence. Forte looked to secure position with his leg for a trip takedown, but Etim was able to avoid it and get separation to go back to the center of the cage. Forte put together a good combination there, though, and put Etim in big trouble. After a series of punches, Etim hit the canvas and Forte followed him there and went to work out of half-guard. Forte was able to pass to full mount with 20 seconds left, but Etim held on to survive the round.

Forte came forward quickly in the third and pushed Etim back with his strikes, which forced Etim to tie things up. After another lengthy stalemate, they were split apart. Forte again came forward quickly, and though Etim was able to land a few knees, Forte stayed relentless and halfway through the round took Etim down. From the top, he looked to land punches as Etim looked wiped out.

“I’m very, very happy with the win,” Forte said. “I prepared very well. I knew preparation would be key to my chances and wanted to make sure I’d done as much as I could. I began my training in Brazil, then I went to France for acclimatization before the fight – and it’s worked. I knew I had one chance to stay in the UFC, and I’ve done it.”

Forte (8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) picked up his first official win in the UFC following a loss to Sergio Moraes at UFC 153 this past October. Etim (15-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC), fighting for the first time since his January 2012 head-kick KO loss to Edson Barboza, now has lost two straight and three of his past four. It’s his first losing streak in five years.

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